I'm entertaining an offer in a colegio in Orizaba and the search isn't turning up much. Can someone give me a quick rundown of the city. Any western food places? Stores? Entertainment? I was really hoping to live in Cuernavaca which I hear is paradise - how does Orizaba compare?

I'm entertaining an offer in a colegio in Orizaba and the search isn't turning up much. Can someone give me a quick rundown of the city. Any western food places? Stores? Entertainment? I was really hoping to live in Cuernavaca which I hear is paradise - how does Orizaba compare?

Orizaba is quite small. I'm not sure what you mean by western food places. There are a few of the chain in terms of store, certainly large enough that you can get most things you could need. It's a short trip to Puebla, Puebla.
What kind of entertainment are you interested in? It's in a lovely part of the country, lots of picturesque villages in the area and good hiking.
The weather in Orizaba is quite a bit colder than Cuernavaca. And it's got a much smaller feel than Cuernavaca as well.

I spent 2 years in Georgia where the only American fast food was McDonald's. I craved comfort food once in awhile. So I'm wondering if any exists in Orizaba. My buddy in Cuernavaca says they have a Costco! Perhaps I am expecting too much there... but what is there? I love to hike but I tend to prefer big cities and people. DF isn't really an option for me (just not interested). I'm hoping some of these smaller cities are condensed enough that I can walk most places but still not get island fever.

You still didn't say what kind of food you mean. Comfort food--for me that's tostadas or tacos dorados!!!

You can use google to check Costco's locations in Mexico, Sam's Club is also in Mexico. I haven't been to Orizaba for 8 years, and they could have one by now, but they certainly didn't then. But, like I said, it's not far to Puebla, Puebla, which is Mexico's 5th largest city. You could easily go on a Saturday and hit Costco and stock up.

BTW, I've been living in rural Mexico, which has no American fast food at all, for more than 14 years now. You can easily learn to make the kinds of food you miss, and find that the scratch versions are actually better. You can find recipies for everything online these days. I make an excellent BBQ sauce. I wouldn't buy it now if I could.

You can easily learn to make the kinds of food you miss, and find that the scratch versions are actually better. You can find recipies for everything online these days.

A friend of mine would pester me every time I went home to Canada to pick him up some Cool Ranch Doritos...what with two kids now, I just don't have time, energy, or luggage space to remember to get them. After the last request, I figured out to make them, cutting up tortilla and deep frying the chips, adding the spice blend.

Just an aside...

I don't know about Orizaba but as for American fast food, you can find Wendy's, Burger King, Carl Jr's and McDonald's. There are also Chili's around, at least in Mexico City. I imagine you'd find most of those in Puebla too.

I was in Orizaba for a few days over semana santa a couple years ago. I was pleasantly surprised . people there are really into the outdoors. There were lots of nice restuarants, parks, a small zoo and it's close to a lot of other bigger cities such as Veracruz, Jalapa and even Puebla. There is also a bright new bus station with great service. They have a subway, dominos and burger king.

I would think that if Cuajimalpa was going to be too dull, you will find Orizaba pretty boring. There will be small town distractions but once you are famiiliar with the "nightlife" you will probably regret having committed to such a place. It gets very cold, and the outdoors is beautiful, it is the first time I have seen a clean river in a city that size in Mexico. But with limited Spanish, I think you will feel isolated there.